A 3D view of the outflow in the Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC-1)

Abstract

Context. Stars whose mass is an order of magnitude greater than the Sun play a prominent role in the evolution of galaxies, exploding as supernovae, triggering bursts of star formation and spreading heavy elements about their host galaxies. A fundamental aspect of star formation is the creation of an outflow. The fast outflow emerging from a region associated with massive star formation in the Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC-1), located behind the Orion Nebula, appears to have been set in motion by an explosive event. Aims. We study the structure and dynamics of outflows in OMC-1. We combine radial velocity and proper motion data for near-IR emission of molecular hydrogen to obtain the first 3-dimensional (3D) structure of the OMC-1 outflow. Our work illustrates a new diagnostic tool for studies of star formation that will be exploited in the near future with the advent of high spatial resolution spectro-imaging in particular with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Methods. We used published radial and proper motion velocities obtained from the shock-excited vibrational emission in the H 2 v = 1-0 S(1) line at 2.122 μm obtained with the GriF instrument on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the Apache Point Observatory, the Anglo-Australian Observatory, and the Subaru Telescope. Results. These data give the 3D velocity of ejecta yielding a 3D reconstruction of the outflows. This allows one to view the material from different vantage points in space giving considerable insight into the geometry. Our analysis indicates that the ejection occurred ≠2 720 years ago from a distorted ring-like structure of ~15″ (6000 AU) in diameter centered on the proposed point of close encounter of the stars BN, source I and maybe also source n. We propose a simple model involving curvature of shock trajectories in magnetic fields through which the origin of the explosion and the center defined by extrapolated proper motions of BN, I and n may be brought into spatial coincidence. © 2012 ESO.